European Union in 2007

Berlin, for so long the symbol of a divided Europe, was chosen as the venue to celebrate the European Union’s 50th birthday at the end of March 2007. The German capital staged a series of emotionally charged events that marked the unquestioned ceremonial highlight of the EU’s year. Heads of state and government from the 27 member countries came together near the Brandenburg Gate—a short distance from what had been the route of the now dismantled Berlin Wall—for gala dinners, concerts, and fireworks to hail the achievements of the union formed by the 1957 Treaty of Rome. The symbolism passed no one by as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany, expressed Europe’s pride in the successful union of West and East.

The high spirits of the Berlin birthday party could not conceal doubts that dogged the European venture throughout 2007. European leaders knew that the EU had reached a crossroads in its development and had yet to decide down which route to turn. Less than two years earlier, the EU project—until then driven forward by the founding fathers’ belief in the moral necessity of “ever closer union”—had been thrown into disarray when plans for an EU constitution (with many of the trappings of statehood) were rejected by voters in France and The Netherlands. The “no” votes meant that the constitution had to be scrapped. European leaders had been unsure of what to do about the EU’s future, and in 2007 many of the fundamental questions remained unresolved.

The year opened optimistically enough with the admission of two more former Eastern bloc countries, Romania and Bulgaria, as full members of the EU, which thus stretched the European Union boundaries from the Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea. In the two capitals, Bucharest and Sophia, respectively, the sanguine atmosphere evoked memories of the fall of the Iron Curtain 17 years earlier. In much of Europe, however, opinion was mixed about expansion. One EU-wide opinion survey found that people in countries that had joined recently overwhelmingly supported more expansion, while only 41% of citizens in preexpansion countries wanted to admit more members in years to come.

Merkel, whose country held the EU presidency for the first six months of the year, was definite in her vision that Europe should not retreat from its bold ambitions for further expansion and deeper integration. In January she made it clear that she wanted the EU to bring back to life large elements of the rejected constitutional treaty that had caused such division in 2005. In countries with a tradition of reticence about transferring powers from their national governments to the EU—notably the U.K., Denmark, and The Netherlands—Merkel’s enthusiasm to revive most of a treaty that had been rejected as democratic votes did not go unnoticed.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, preparing to step down after a decade in office, urged the EU to turn its attention away from institutional reform to subjects such as the need to tackle global warming and deliver economic liberalization in the face of mounting competition from countries such as India and China. At the EU summit in Brussels in March, leaders of the 27 member countries agreed to binding targets that would require them to cut greenhouse-gas emissions to 20% below 1990 levels by 2020. There were also commitments to increase the proportion of energy provided by renewable sources, such as wind, wave, and solar power.

An era of European politics ended in May when 52-year-old Nicolas Sarkozy succeeded Jacques Chirac, age 74, as president of France. Chirac had driven the European Union forward for 12 years, combining a strong pro-integration philosophy with consistent defense of France’s national interest. Sarkozy hinted that although he was just as enthusiastic about the EU as his predecessor had been, he might also foster relations between Paris and Washington that were warmer than the frosty atmosphere that had existed under Chirac. On economic policy, however, Sarkozy’s arrival created new tensions. Unlike Blair, he warned the EU against focusing too much on economic liberalization. He made it clear that he would continue France’s protectionist tradition—known in the EU as “economic nationalism”—and asserted that Europe had a moral purpose beyond merely advancing the interests of free trade. “It [the European Union] must not become the Trojan Horse for globalization’s ills,” Sarkozy declared upon taking office.

In June the debate on what to do about the constitution came back in earnest. Germany applied heavy pressure for a replacement treaty to be agreed upon by the time it handed over the presidency to Portugal at the end of the month. Most member countries acknowledged that much of the substance of the treaty was necessary for the efficient working of the EU. There was a need to reduce the policy areas that were subject to unanimous voting. The European Commission (the EU’s executive arm) had to be streamlined, and it was vital that the EU expand its role in areas such as the fight against international terrorism and drug trafficking. Supporters also emphasized that the EU needed to increase its influence in international affairs with the creation of a new permanent president of the Council of Ministers and a new foreign policy chief.

Behind closed doors EU leaders agreed that their best chance of selling to their people a treaty that was essentially the same as the rejected one would be to drop the word constitution from the title and strip the new documents of proposals for a new EU anthem and EU flag, which looked so much like the trappings of statehood. What emerged from the June summit was a differently worded and slightly slimmed-down reform treaty—devoid of references to flags and anthems but otherwise much the same as the rejected constitution.

Having secured a deal that did not require a repeat referendum, Sarkozy seemed to have done enough to persuade the French people, and it appeared that the Dutch parliament was more relaxed, arguing that it had been given a new role of keeping the EU in check. The revival of key elements of the constitutional treaty presented a real headache for Gordon Brown, who had succeeded Blair as British prime minister on June 27. Blair’s government had promised a U.K. referendum on the constitution in 2005 but never had to call one because French and Dutch voters had killed the treaty. Now—as he tried to head off calls for a referendum— Brown had the difficult task of arguing that the new treaty was fundamentally different from the old one.

In September there were signs of a major shift in French policy on European and transatlantic defense issues as Sarkozy signaled that Paris was preparing to rejoin NATO’s military command after a 40-year absence. The move was intended to reassure Washington that France’s enthusiasm for closer cooperation between EU countries on defense and military issues was not, as the U.S. feared, intended to undermine the transatlantic alliance. French Defense Minister Hervé Morin told a defense conference in September that he was “convinced that European defence will make no progress unless France changes its political behaviour within NATO.” Meanwhile, Sarkozy was developing plans for a new committee of EU “wise men” to examine the EU’s role until 2030. It was agreed in December that the group would be chaired by former Spanish prime minister Felipe González. At the same time, Sarkozy was preparing to unveil his ideas on closer defense cooperation between member countries.

The 27 heads of state and government met again in Lisbon in October to agree on the final wording of the revived reform treaty—which was then renamed the Lisbon Treaty. Only Ireland, which was bound under its constitution to hold referenda on such issues, had committed itself to holding a national vote. Brown was holding out, arguing that the U.K. Parliament should ratify the treaty, but with MPs of all parties demanding that he grant a national vote, he remained under intense pressure. The treaty was signed by all 27 EU leaders on December 13 at a ceremony in Lisbon.

On November 6 the European Commission published its report on the difficult issue of Turkey’s progress toward admission into the EU (which was not expected for at least a decade). The report indicated that Turkey still fell short in several areas. At the request of France, a document adopted on December 10 by the EU foreign ministers referred to “intergovernmental” rather than “accession” conferences with Turkey. This was considered in some circles to be a victory for Sarkozy, who opposed Turkey’s accession to the EU. Enthusiasts for Turkey’s admission, including the British, claimed, however, that the wording had no hidden significance. It was clear that new tensions were already building over the next phase of the EU’s development.

Click anywhere inside the article to add text or insert superscripts, subscripts, and special characters.
You can also highlight a section and use the tools in this bar to modify existing content:

Add links to related Britannica articles!
You can double-click any word or highlight a word or phrase in the text below and then select an article from the search box.
Or, simply highlight a word or phrase in the article, then enter the article name or term you'd like to link to in the search box below, and select from the list of results.

Note: we do not allow links to external resources in editor.
Please click the Web sites link for this article to add citations for
external Web sites.